Goodreads Blurb

Madeline Finn and Star are back–and now Star is old enough to become a therapy dog. Will our beloved team be able to pass the test?

Madeline Finn and Star are off to Walker Oaks, a retirement community where Star will take his tests to become a therapy dog. Accompanied by Mom, Mrs. Dimple, and Bonnie, she and Star make their way through a variety of challenges and meet several new friends. But Madeline Finn can’t stop thinking about an elderly man in a wheelchair who never smiles. Is there something she and Star can do to help?

A companion to the Lisa Papp’s best-selling books Madeline Finn and the Library Dog and Madeline Finn and the Therapy Dog, this heartwarming story explores the therapy dog training process and provides a realistic and appealing example of a young person making a difference in her community. 

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

What an adorable story. Madeline Finn is training her gorgeous dog Star to be a certified therapy dog. She was very determined, patient, caring and worked very hard with Star to make sure he will receive his tag. Madeline and Star had everyone at Walter Oaks, which is a retirement community, very happy that Star was there to keep them company. Madeline and Star had to work a little harder with Mr. Humphrey who wouldn’t speak to them or pay any attention to Star. Madeline is young but a brilliant young lady. She was patient and thought of many ideas that might make Mr. Humphrey happy and she was such a success. Madeline and Star are the perfect team that passed the test. This is a brilliant book to teach children discipline, determination, to think outside the box and to never give up. Great illustrations with a touching story.

Author Biography

MADELINE FINN AND THE LIBRARY DOG is the 2017 CBC Children’s Choice Award Winner in the K – 2 Book of the Year category.

Madeline Finn comes straight from the heart.

I am continually inspired by these amazing Therapy Dogs and their handlers. They let me tag along for the better part of a year where I witnessed one magical moment after the next. Many of the dogs featured in the book are former shelter dogs, now living a new life helping children, and I’m proud to say this book continues to raise money for these wonderful programs.

Everyone knows dogs are masters at unconditional love. When a child senses they are accepted exactly as they are, their fears drop away. Doors open. It’s tough to put into words the beautiful bond between the animals and children. I hope this story shares a little bit of that magic.

MADELINE FINN AND THE LIBRARY DOG is a 2016 Parent’s Choice Award Recommended book, a 2017 Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice Award Winner, and has been translated into 21 languages. Lisa Papp won the 2012 Storytelling Award, and a 2011 NAPPA Honor Award for The Town that Fooled the British, illustrated by her husband, Robert. Some of her favorite writers are L.M. Montgomery, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Sally Gardner. Illustrators she adores are Lisbeth Zwerger, Rien Poortvliet, and, of course, Robert Papp. She and her husband live in eastern Pennsylvania with their three wildly creative cats. 

Goodreads Blurb

Time to head back to school with this bestselling groovy Pete the Cat book!

Pete the Cat is rocking in his school shoes. Pete discovers the library, the lunch room, the playground, and lots of other cool places at school. And no matter where he goes, Pete never stops moving and grooving and singing his song…because it’s all good.

The fun never stops—download the free groovin’ song.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

First day of school are memorable. Pete goes to school with his new red shoes. He sings throughout the book as he goes through his school day having fun. We can rock on, if we have our red shoes too.

Author Biography

Eric Litwin (Mr. Eric) is a guitar strumming, book writing, harmonica blowing, song singing, folksy, fun type of guy. He is the # 1 New York Times Best Selling author of the first four Pete the Cat picture books and the author of the new musical series The Nuts. Eric’s books have sold over 1.5 million copies, been translated into seven languages and won 15 state and national awards including a Theodor Geisel Seuss Honor Award. He has also recorded award winning music CDs. Eric is a popular performing artist who plays guitar, sings, tells musical stories and brings books to life. He is also a nationally respected keynote speaker on interactive literacy and music. Eric is the co-creator of The Learning Groove which offers parent and child music classes and preschool music curriculum. Eric likes music, books and coffee.

Goodreads Blurb

Join Pete the Cat as he counts cupcakes! Help Pete the Cat and his friends find the missing cupcakes! Pete the Cat and his friends are busy as can be baking cupcakes for a party, and Pete can’t wait to perform with his groovy band. But some of the cupcakes have gone missing! Who could have taken them? In this latest Pete the Cat picture book adventure, by New York Times bestselling authors James and Kimberly Dean, Pete and the gang solve the mystery of the missing cupcakes and learn that it’s cool to be kind.

The fun never stops—watch the grovin’ video online.

My Review: Rates 4 out of 5 stars

Who doesn’t love cupcakes? I sure do! Great book for children to learn how to count, solve a mystery and forgive their best friend. Let’s all have a cupcake party with our friends. Cupcakes are the best!

BOOK DETAILS:
a beautiful broken life
by Zoey Zane
Publication date: December 3rd 2020
Genres: Poetry, Romance

Synopsis:
some of the best and worst things come in pairs
and two has always been my favorite number

they tried to break me
the two of them

if this was black and white
there’d be a clear winner

but it’s not
and there isn’t

there is only my story
muddled with color 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55251465-a-beautiful-broken-life
Pre-order: https://amzn.to/3jIjHu2

Author Biography

Zoey Zane is an aspiring author and poet, who has been a zealous reader for most of her life. She has a love for dark romance and thrillers, two genres that dominate most of the space on her bookshelves. a beautiful broken life is her first poetry collection. Zoey lives in Tennessee with her husband, their son, and their adorable pitbull-mix. For Zoey, writing has never been optional; like eating and breathing are essential to living. Writing is like that childhood toy you lost during a move, but then you find out your mother saved it for when you got older. There’s that huge section of life where it’s missing, but the craving is always there. She has always wanted to write poetry, has a love for creative writing, collects bookmarks, and truly believes all people should use the Oxford comma. If you can figure out how Zoey Zane (very) loosely relates to her real name, she’ll give you a cookie. Oh, and a signed paperback of her book.

Author links:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20671544.Zoey_Zane

https://www.zoeyzane.net/

https://www.instagram.com/justmekendra/

Goodreads Blurb

Falling for a man like Jackson Wilder was not something I had planned.

He was wild, experienced and savagely beautiful. He was also damaged and dangerous. Our love was a cosmic collision of lust and obsession that left me scorched by exquisite flames of desire and domination.

Jack possessed me. He educated me. Loving him was the greatest pleasure I’d ever known… up until the moment I discovered the dark secrets he had been hiding.

I could never have imagined that pulling myself out of the agony of betrayal would lead me to reconnect with a former friend, Cameron O’Neill, scion of one of Manhattan’s wealthiest and most powerful dynasties, and sworn enemy of Jack.

Cameron’s craving for me was acute. The relentless force of his devastating masculine beauty and his powerful, controlled virility was dizzying. Desire colored his fierce gaze. I knew it was wrong. Jack would never allow it. I had to do everything within my power to resist him, even when he pulled me down the rabbit hole where I uncovered dark truths about Manhattan’s most secret society that led me to the brink of madness… 

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

This book will grasp your attention from the very first chapter. It’s intense, thrilling, frightening and suspenseful all in one. The story does have heavy BDSM scenes, so it might not be a book for everyone. I must say I dislike so many characters. As you keep reading you find more characters you want to smack them to Pluto.

If I was married to Jackson I would have left as quickly as I could. What a cheating rich jerk who is sexy hot and thinks he owns people. Then comes Cameron who can possibly be his twin, rich and hot. He has some softer characteristics, but it seems like his bed manners replicate Jackson’s. The story is almost like a love triangle. Jessynia has no backbone to stand up to these dominating men. I am hoping to see some turning events and see Jessynia standup for herself and get back at all of them. Vengeance from the sweet wife would be epic. I need queen bee taken down and her little dirty secrets shared to the world.

Monique is an amazing storyteller. The plot was thought out and worked so well with the story. The flow of the story was great. I loved that each character had some background information to brief the reader to why the characters act the way they do. I will tell you I was so upset when I was left hanging at the end of the story, since there is a continuation. Just when the book got so good you are left hanging with the pieces remaining. Just for this reason you know the book was very good. Looking forward to see what happens next.

Author Biography

Monique Edenwood is a British-Canadian author based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Her love of the magical trees and forests that she grew up surrounded by helped to inspire her first novel, Enter The Black Oak, book 1 in the Black Oak trilogy.

She loves helping people escape their daily lives for a short while with the help of some intrigue, suspense and some smoking hot fictional boyfriends!

When she isn’t writing or reading, she loves hiking and cycling around beautiful Vancouver.
She’s also an epic fantasy geek and lover of 80’s and 90’s music.

Monique absolutely loves hearing from readers of her novels so please feel free to contact her!

Goodreads Blurb

The Last Meal compassionately tackles a difficult and controversial subject to educate readers about the death penalty. The story follows four fictional death row inmates on their final days before their executions. All of the characters are adorable birds who must face the consequence of their actions. Chase, Peter, Fred and James are each given the same opportunity to have one last special meal of their choosing to reflect on the past and find closure as they come to the end of their life.

My Review Rated 5 out of 5 Stars

Wow, what a powerful story. A book to educate children about the death penalty. A difficult subject made in simpler terms for children to understand. This book truly had me thinking what would be my last meal?

Really, the thought of a last meal is frightening for anyone, especially someone that is in jail waiting for their last day on Earth. What had my hairs standing up while reading this story is that a meal to everyone means something very special. It can remind you of a special moment in your life, it can remind you of someone special, it can remind you about all those meals you wish you had but didn’t.

A meal gives us strength, joy and happiness. I was touched by how each character is this book thought of their last meal as something very important and they searched for a last memory or a long past memory of the meal they had with their family. The guards going above an beyond to grant their last meal was even more powerful. This book will surely leave us thinking of a delicious meal with our family and cherishing those moments for a lifetime. If I had to choose a last meal, that meal would be a lobster. It’s my favorite food and my mom’s also. It will bring sweet memories of all those times we enjoyed a lobster together. Life is short and we should enjoy the foods we love!

Author Biography

Yuno Imai is a best-selling children’s book author and Japanese writer based in Los Angeles. She specializes in writing heartwarming stories that help readers cope with death or develop a healthy understanding of difficult subjects.

Website: http://iknowyouknowyuno.com/books
Instagram: @yunobook (https://www.instagram.com/yunobook/)

Goodreads Blurb

Trevor and Me defies the boundaries of age, gender and race. It is a heartwarming story about reincarnation based on the real-life friendship between an elderly Caucasian man and a young Asian girl. As Trevor’s health starts to decline and he prepares to die, he promises to always be with the girl even after he’s gone. Trevor dies and the girl is filled with grief until one day she begins to receive signs to let her know Trevor is and always will be with her.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

A story of friendship between two amazing friends regardless of age. A heartwarming story that we all can relate to. A friendship arrives when you most need it. Time spent with your friends or family members are moments you will hold in your heart always. Trevor could have been her grandfather, but the fun and enjoyment they had was precious. They had a great connection and had things in common that they enjoyed together. This was a very touching story that makes you think of your loved ones and how you should cherish every moment with them.

Our love ones at times need to leave us early and they might not be there in person, but they sure are there in spirit. I loved that Yuno shared her beautiful friendship she had with Trevor with the whole world. Excellent book to help children understand that sometimes our friends and family might need to leave forever, but will be here in spirit. I enjoyed the colorful illustrations. Thank you Juno for allowing me to read your amazing story.

Author Biography

Yuno Imai is a best-selling children’s book author and Japanese writer based in Los Angeles. She specializes in writing heartwarming stories that help readers cope with death or develop a healthy understanding of difficult subjects.

Website: http://iknowyouknowyuno.com/books
Instagram: @yunobook (https://www.instagram.com/yunobook/)

BOOK DETAILS:
We Don’t Talk Anymore
by Julie Johnson
Publication date: October 27th 2020
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:
For as long as I can remember, Archer Reyes has been by my side. My closest confidant. My truest ally. My best friend. 

That is, until the summer we turned seventeen, when I started picturing him as something else entirely. 

The love of my life. 

I knew confessing my feelings wasn’t going to be easy; I had no idea he’d reject me so cruelly… or that he was only breaking my heart to save my life.  
It’s been 365 days since I told my best friend I loved him.
365 days since he didn’t say it back.
365 days since he lied straight to my face. 

WE DON’T TALK ANYMORE is a standalone new adult romance about first love, second chances, and the lengths we go to hold onto each other when everything falls apart… 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55203428-we-don-t-talk-anymore
Pre-order: https://books2read.com/wedonttalkanymore

Author Biography

JULIE JOHNSON (born July 3, 1991) is a twenty-something Boston native and USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen contemporary romance novels. When she’s not writing, Julie can most often be found adding stamps to her passport, drinking too much coffee, striving to conquer her Netflix queue, and Instagramming pictures of her dog. (Follow her: @author_julie)

She published her debut novel LIKE GRAVITY in August 2013, just before her senior year of college, and she’s never looked back. Since, she has published more than a dozen other novels, including the bestselling BOSTON LOVE STORY series and THE GIRL DUET. Her books have appeared on Kindle and iTunes Bestseller lists around the world, as well as in AdWeek, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today.

Be on the lookout for her new series, THE FORBIDDEN ROYALS TRILOGY, now available at all e-retailers!

You can find Julie on Facebook or contact her on her website www.juliejohnsonbooks.com. Sometimes, when she can figure out how Twitter works, she tweets from @AuthorJulie. For major book news and updates, subscribe to Julie’s newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bnWtHH
Author links:

https://www.juliejohnsonbooks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/juliejohnsonbooks

https://www.instagram.com/author_julie/

https://twitter.com/AuthorJulie

https://us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2feab4a038a5f5d65415d6dda&id=7dc89b1afc

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7236797.Julie_Johnson

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zP11kBwZPA&feature=youtu.be

Goodreads Blurb

The remarkable, little-known story of William Still, known as the Father of the Underground Railroad from award-winning author-illustrator Don Tate

William Still’s parents escaped slavery but had to leave two of their children behind, a tragedy that haunted the family. As a young man, William went to work for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, where he raised money, planned rescues, and helped freedom seekers who had traveled north. And then one day, a strangely familiar man came into William’s office, searching for information about his long-lost family. Could it be?

Motivated by his own family’s experience, William began collecting the stories of thousands of other freedom seekers. As a result, he was able to reunite other families and build a remarkable source of information, including encounters with Harriet Tubman, Henry Box Brown, and William and Ellen Craft.

Don Tate brings to life the incredible, stranger-than-fiction true story of William Still’s life and work as a record keeper of enslaved people who had fled to freedom. Tate’s powerful words and artwork are sure to inspire readers in this first-ever picture book biography of the Father of the Underground Railroad. 

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

A powerful story at a time in history that we need to remember the mistakes of our past, so history doesn’t repeat itself. We need more stories like this. This was the first time I hear about William Still. His story is profoundly powerful and his story needs to be shared with everyone. His family did a tough decision to escape from slavery and leave their older sons behind. William was born free and wanted everyone to have their freedom too. William’s story shaped him to be a savior for many who escaped the south. He would keep notes of where people escaped from in hopes of reuniting families. He became known as ” The Father of the Underground Railroad”. This story was beautifully written. I loved that the author included his sources so we have more materials to read. This is a great picture book that will teach children about an iconic man that help fight against slavery and bring freedom to all.

Author Biography

Don Tate is an award-winning author, and the illustrator of numerous critically acclaimed books for children. He is also one of the founding hosts of the blog The Brown Bookshelf – a blog dedicated to books for African American young readers with book reviews, author and illustrator interviews. Likewise, Don is a member of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign, a grassroots organization created to address the lack of diverse, non-majority narratives in children’s literature.

A native of Des Moines, Iowa, he currently lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and son.

GoodReads Blurb

Newlyweds Sam Statler and Annie Potter are head over heels, and excited to say good-bye to New York and start a life together in Sam’s sleepy hometown in upstate New York. Or, it turns out, a life where Annie spends most of her time alone while Sam, her therapist husband, works long hours in his downstairs office, tending to the egos of his (mostly female) clientele.

Little does Sam know that through a vent in his ceiling, every word of his sessions can be heard from the room upstairs. The pharmacist’s wife, contemplating a divorce. The well-known painter whose boyfriend doesn’t satisfy her in bed. Who could resist listening? Everything is fine until the French girl in the green mini Cooper shows up, and Sam decides to go to work and not come home, throwing a wrench into Sam and Annie’s happily ever after.